The present invention concerns docking stations for portable computers and pertains particularly to password protection for a computer docking station.
Generally a portable computer, such as a notebook computer, a laptop computer or a palm top computer, is optimized to reduce size and weight. This often requires tradeoffs, for example, in the size of the display and keyboard, as well as the number and types of ports which are implemented.
One way to increase the versatility of portable computers is to provide for a docking station. The docking station when connected to a portable computer provides for a number of different types of ports. These ports are used, for example, to drive a large monitor, communicate with various peripherals provide connection to a network, and so on. See for example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,283,714 issued to Collins Tsai, et al, for "Docking Apparatus for a Portable Computer."
The docking station may reside in a permanent location with ports connected to various devices. When "at the office" a user can take advantage of the power of a full desktop computer by connecting the portable computer to the docking station. When "on the road" the user has the advantage of a light weight and small sized personal computer.
Typically, a docking station can be accessed by any portable computer with a matching interface. This however, can allow for a weakness in security. Particularly, any portable computer which is able to dock to a docking station can gain access to networks, storage devices such as disk drives, printers, etc. which are attached to the docking station. In some environments such free access is undesirable.
One way to prevent access to a docking station is to use a mechanical lock which requires a physical key. When the docking station is not in used, the mechanical lock can be used to prevent unauthorized docking to the docking station. In order to access the locked docking station using a personal computer, a user is required to unlock the docking station using the physical key. However, some users may view this security method as inconvenient. Further, in order to use this security method it is necessary to keep track of the physical key.